Alturas, CA 96054 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Alturas, CA, ZIP 96054
Around 05/28 is the usual last spring frost, about 273 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 09/29, about 125 frost-free days later.
Zone 7a (0 to 5°F average annual minimum) comes from the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; the frost dates above are the 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting NOAA station for Alturas, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 7a around Alturas has about 5 weeks left before the first fall frost — that's the usual window to get a cold frame up if you want to keep harvesting past it.
How much risk comes with planting early here
05/28 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 05/07 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 06/16 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Alturas compares
Alturas's growing season runs about 125 days, ranking 38,764 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within CA, it ranks 2,482 of 2,555.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Alturas can differ from the 96054 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 7a and Alturas's frost date answer different questions.